The Milton-Madison Bridge is a continuous truss bridge that connects Milton, Kentucky and Madison, Indiana. It carries approximately 10,000 cars a day. A contract has been signed to replace the bridge by 2012.

Description This two lane vehicular bridge is the Ohio River crossing for U.S. Route 421. It has a main span of 600 feet (180 m) and total length of 3,184.2 feet (970.5 m). It has a deck width of a mere 20 feet (6.1 m), and above the deck the vertical clearance is 16.8 feet (5.1 m). This bridge is the only vehicular crossing of the Ohio River for 26 miles (42 km) going upstream ( the Markland Bridge near Vevay, Indiana) and 46 miles (74 km) downstream (the John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge in Louisville). The bridge provided for the shortest distance between Indianapolis, Indiana and Lexington, Kentucky.

History Built by J.G. White Engineering Corp., construction was started in 1928, and completed in 1929, at the cost of $1,365,101.84. It was opened for traffic on December 20, 1929. Originally a toll bridge, on November 1, 1947 at noon the toll was removed. In 1997 the bridge was refurbished. This was after a 1995 study which could not agree on a new bridge location, so $10 million was used for the refurbishment.

Today The bridge is in the process of replacement, as the current bridge is "functionally obsolete" and "structurally deficient." It has a sufficiency rating of 33 out of a possible 100; its superstructure condition rating is considered "poor". Modern trucks are unable to use the bridge. One of the boons to the new bridge would be to aid a $20 million "resort and entertainment center" where previously a cotton mill stood. A Milton-Madison Bridge Study was begun by the Indiana Department of Transportation and Kentucky Transportation Cabinet on August 26, 2008. The study must take in account the Madison Historic District, which is a National Historic Landmark, and the study is burdened by having to consider the National Environmental Policy Act. The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) in a partnership with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) has designed a new bridge to replace the current bridge. The new project is headed mostly by INDOT. The bridge will be removed except for several piers in the waterway, which will be rehabilitated and widened to accommodate a new, wider steel-truss superstructure. Scour mitigation will also be performed on the existing piers. The new bridge will also feature an ADA compliant pedestrian walkway. Construction for the new bridge will begin in the fall of 2010, with the bridge remaining open during work on the piers. The design-build bridge project will be completed years ahead of schedule and with significantly less disruption than originally estimated. Walsh Construction Company plans to close the bridge for only 10 days during construction rather than an anticipated year-long closure. The team will use an innovative construction method called “truss sliding” to ”slide” the 3,181-foot-long truss into place along steel rails and plates. Gallery